1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibratory hammer pile driving apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is commonly necessary in the construction industry to drive piles into the ground at the early stages of the construction process to provide support for the foundation structure. The piles are generally composed of a vertical stack of pipes or "H" beams that are spliced together in an end-to-end relationship. Commonly used pile drivers apply vertical blows to the pile to drive it into the ground. U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,953, issued to Wells, U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,515, issued to Haage, and U.S. Pat. No., 4,730,954, issued to Sliwinski et al., show this type of pile driver which uses blows to drive the pile. Such pile drivers generally create a considerable amount of noise which creates an environmental nuisance.
To overcome the problems associated with impacting pile drivers, vibratory hammer pile drivers have been introduced. U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,373, issued to Giroux, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,600, issued to Hirata et al., show vibratory hammer pile drivers.
The vibratory hammer pile driver of Giroux must be lifted over the top of the pile using a crane, therefore it is not suitable for situations where there is low clearance over the location of the pile. In a low clearance situation, the pile driver of Giroux would necessitate the use of shorter pipe or "H" beam sections resulting in an increased number of splices and an attendant increase in cost.
The vibratory hammer of Hirata et al., although intended for low clearance situations, must still be slipped over an end of a pipe or "H" beam section, because, unlike the present invention, it does not have an open ended slot in the support plate of the vibratory hammer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,290, issued to Collins, shows a hydraulic expander for expanding the opening at the bottom of the bore of a hole for s pier or foundation structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,630, issued to Bolin et al., shows a hydraulic jack for lifting a concrete slab along a pile inserted through the slab.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,953, issued to Mitchhart, shows a device, including a collar and a wedge, for driving square wooden posts into the ground with a manual hammer.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.